A Boy in the Mirror
by Antilles
Summary: The Magic Mirror Gate shows the person's true soul. Bastian knows it, but Atreyu does not. My take on how they feel when faced with that test. Moviebased, oneshot


**The Boy In The Mirror**

Summary: The Magic Mirror Gate shows the person's true soul. Bastian knows it, but Atreyu does not. My take on how they would feel when faced with that test

_**Disclaimer: Don't own anything that sounds familiar**_

_**A/N: After locating the script for the movie (which I haven't seen in a few years) and reading through it, I realized that as the reader, Bastian will know some events that Atreyu doesn't, and his reactions would be completely different from those of the other boy - especially their first encounter at the Magic Mirror Gate.This brought on the realization for this little piece...the points of view vary -**_ this is_** Atreyu,** this is** Bastian. On with the story**_

I slowly step toward the second gate. After the encounter with the Sphinx, my heart is still racing, and my head is low. I know I panicked, and raced right through when I should have been calm. I am terrified now of what I can find at the second step. I don't know about it, since I didn't hear anything from my guide. All I felt was the residue of fear from the first gate.

Now I hesitantly raise my head, as the wind howls in my ears. Snow settles on my hair and my face, and I step forward to a giant frame.

A mirror? Is that it?

_I give a nervous gulp. If only he stopped to listen - if only he knew what that mirror does... I wonder would his hesitation increase even more had he known the truth._

_Like him, my heart is racing with fear. What will he see? Like him, I slowly take a breath of much needed air, trying to push the fear down. I know - I heard - the Mirror shows the true self of a person. I know he doesn't know what the Mirror does - he didn't stop to listen._

_Maybe he chose right. It's better to face unknown at some point._

_True self... I wonder if I would be brave enough to face myself..._

_I know he won't run now - not when he's so close to the Oracle..._

_What will he see?_

More certain of myself now, I raise my head. At first, I only see a dim outline of myself - the mirror's depths are confusing. Then the image shifts and changes, as I come closer, peering inside. There's nothing to be afraid of. After all, it's just a mirror, somehow, for whichever purpose, left standing there in the middle of a snowy desert. Why is it here?

The clouds in the mirror and my shape slowly disappear and I stare.

I look into the dim and dusty room. I can't see anything, despite the numerous shapes jumping out of me from the darkness. When my eyes adjust to the darkness after blinded by snow, I finally notice that the room has an occupant.

It's a boy, no older than I am. He's lying on his stomach with a blanket over his dark head, holding a heavy, leather-bound book in his hands. He frowns incredulously at the book before his head comes up, and we look into each other's eyes. He stares at me, looking through me - as if I'm not supposed to exist. His eyes, which I can see now, are dark and wide with astonishment.

How am I to know that I would see him again?

I don't. All I can do is stare, until he jumps to his feet and flings the book away, as if it burns his hands...

_I read on. As he starts to approach the mirror, I gulp, feeling more nervous than I really should. After all, it's not I who faces that mirror._

_It's him._

_Those thoughts last only until I start reading what, exactly he sees._

_A dusty room? Strange shapes in the darkness?_

_A boy, reading a book under a blanket???_

_I gulp. Suddenly, the nervousness returns to me full force, and I slowly raise my own head, searching for a mirror in this cluttered space. Surely, he's mistaken. He can't be seeing me. I'm not his reflection - he doesn't exist, for goodness' sake._

_I find one with my eyes, before returning to the book. The shadow in the mirror, cracked in half, is dim and distant, and yet, I feel as if something is nudging me to look up - to look into the murky shadows in the broken mirror. The mirror in my attic seemingly encourages me to face the same test he does..._

_But that's ridiculous! This isn't true!_

_I frown incredulously and slowly raise my head._

_He's there, in the mirror, looking straight into my soul. Behind him is snowy waste. I can hear the wind howling around his figure, I can see it in his dark hair, flying in a cloud around his shoulders and face. Snow had settled on his face and his clothes, and his eyes are as wide as mine are._

_I can't help it but stare._

_He's... Me?_

_But..._

_Impossible!_

_He doesn't exist... Does he???_

_Knowing what I do about that mirror, I stare, unable to tear my eyes away from the boy in the broken frame._

_He's me?_

_Why does he see me?_

_I don't understand..._

Why do I see that strange boy instead of my own reflection?

I don't understand.

_How can Atreyu be my reflection?_

_As I stare in amazement into my reflection of the Magic Mirror Gate - which somehow reflects the dusty Attic of my school, I don't even think that in a few years, I'll be standing right next to him. How can I know it?_

_I don't._

_I jump to my feet, staring in the reflection as it slowly starts fading. The book burns my hands, and I throw it away..._

_Then, curiosity overcomes my fear, and hesitantly I approach the book, as if it were a wounded animal and would snap at my hand if I'm too rough with it._

_Hesitantly I take the book back into my hands. Its covers are warm, and the Auryn is reflecting the playful sun ray that is dancing on the floor where I sit._

_It flips open where I left off._

_I turn with my back to the mirror and continue reading..._


End file.
